This book illustrates how Arab women have been engaging in three ongoing, parallel struggles, before, during, and after the Arab Spring, on three levels, namely: the political struggle to pave the road for democracy, freedom, and reform; the social struggle to achieve gender equality and fight all forms of injustice and discrimination against women; and the legal struggle to chart new laws which can safeguard both the political and the social gains. The contributors argue that while the political upheavals were oftentimes more prevalent and visible, they should not overshadow the parallel social and legal revolutions which are equally important, due to their long-term impacts on the region. The chapters shed light on the intersections, overlaps and divergences between these simultaneous, continuous gendered struggles and unpacks their complexities and multiple implications, locally, regionally, and internationally, across different countries and through different phases.

Sahar Khamis is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland, USA. She is an expert on Arab and Muslim media, and the former Head of the Mass Communication and Information Science Department in Qatar University. She is the co-author of two books: Islam Dot Com: Contemporary Islamic Discourses in Cyberspace (with M. el-Nawawy, 2009) and Egyptian Revolution 2.0: Political Blogging, Civic Engagement and Citizen Journalism (with M. el-Nawawy, 2013).

Amel Mili is the Director of the Arabic Language and Culture Program at the Lauder Institute, University of Pennsylvania, USA. She holds a JD in private law and an MS in public administration from the University of Tunis, Tunisia, as well as a PhD in global affairs from Rutgers University in Newark, NJ, USA.

“Subjected to prolonged and degenerative colonial and patriarchal gaze, the very idea of an "Arab woman" has been made synonymous with gendered submission and sexual fantasies. In this book, two brilliant scholars have collected a constellation of bold and path-breaking essays to right that wrong. In the unfolding pages of these exhilarating chapters, we are witness to the defiant presence of Arab women (in the pluralities of their characters and cultures) in the streets and squares of their histories, from institutions of higher learning to the nobility of their daily struggles. No reader will leave these pages radically unaltered as to who and what Arab women are today. A tour de force – a bravura of cutting-edge critical thinking.” (Professor Hamid Dabashi, Columbia University, USA)

“This is a much-needed scholarly contribution to the literature on Arab women, activism and feminism. The outstanding collection of chapters critically address what contemporary transformations and activism mean for women’s lived realities, identities and ongoing struggles, complicating assumptions about gender roles and gendered identities and offering a nuanced approach to addressing Arab feminism(s) as a dynamic ongoing phenomenon. Its meticulous scholarship and breadth make it invaluable to students and scholars interested in issues of media, gender, activism and feminism in the region.” (Dr Dina Matar, SOAS, UK)

“This collection of essays is a must-read for students and academics analyzing gender issues in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. The contributions, penned by experts on the Arab region, provide an invaluable insight into the impact of the social revolution, as manifested in different Arab countries, which parallelled the political uprisings since 2011. The book includes a wealth of empirically rich cases that can guide future investigations of gendered activism in the Arab world and beyond.” (Professor Noha Mellor, University of Bedfordshire, UK)

“The essays contained in this edited volume document and confirm the constant acts of heroism of Arab women, as they actively contribute to contemporary social and political movements in the Arab region. The volume’s contributors present original research on female engagement with multiple forms of activism, therefore challenging and disavowing Western stereotypical notions of Arab women’s disempowerment. The volume’s essays also offer commentary on the important shifts in how Arab women articulate and perform their subjectivities as agents of change in our globalized era. This volume is a must-read for scholars and students interested in the evolving transitions taking place in the Arab world with respect to women’s empowerment.” (Professor Valérie K. Orlando, University of Maryland, USA)